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SOAR Profile Archive

SOAR

SOAR Profile Archive

SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) is a Moravian University program which provides stipends, travel allowances, and research expenses to support students, in any discipline, who are engaged in scholarly or creative activity with faculty members. Since scholarship takes different forms in different disciplines, SOAR is designed to be as general and inclusive as possible.

2022 SOAR Students

2021 SOAR Students

2020 SOAR Students


Christine Wieder

CHRISTINE WIEDER ’20

Project Title: Communicating the Environment: Fact, Fiction, Poetics
Major: English
Project Advisor: Dr. Theresa Dougal

Setareh Alipour

SETAREH ALIPOUR ’20

Project Title: The effect of intensity of visual (dark & light) cues in Drosophila melanogaster larval learning memory
Major: Biology
Project Advisor: Dr. Jones

Erin Anagnost

ERIN ANAGNOST ’19

Project Title: Towards Project-Based Citizen Science: Environmental Education and Community Action at Lehigh Valley Summerbridge
Major: English Studies, Early Childhood Ed. Cert.
Project Advisor: Dr. Gleason

Matthew Anderson

MATTHEW ANDERSON ’21

Project Title: Interactions between juvenile blue crabs and Asian shore crabs
Major: Neuroscience
Project Advisor: Dr. Josh Lord

Alvaro Belmonte

ALVARO BELMONTE ’20

Project Title: K-Super Bondage Number on Graphs
Major: Math
Project Advisor: Dr. Nathan Shank

Alec Buttner

ALEC BUTTNER ’21

Project Title: Synthesis of Peptide-Based Quorum Sensing Modulators for S. pneumoniae
Major: Biochemistry
Project Advisor: Dr. Bertucci

Cole Carey

COLE CAREY ’19

Project Title: Crosslinking Dirhodium Complexes to Macromolecules to Increase their Uptake in Cancer Cells
Major: Chemistry
Project Advisor: Dr. Stephen Dunham

Carly Danoski

CARLY DANOSKI ’20

Project Title: Salamander Diversity and Ecology at the Deputy Field Center and along the Monocacy Creek
Major: Environmental Science
Project Advisor: Dr. Daniel Proud

Emilee Engler

EMILEE ENGLER ’21

Project Title: Synthesis of Peptide-Based Quorum Sensing Modulators for S. pneumoniae
Major: Chemistry
Project Advisor: Dr. Michael A. Bertucci

Bryan Kelly

BRYAN KELLY ’20

Project Title: Photometric Analysis of Variable Star Systems
Major: Physics / Mathematics & Computer Science
Project Advisor: Dr. Ruth Malenda

Megan Konrath

MEGAN KONRATH ’20

Project Title: Inter-strand Crosslinking of DNA by Novel Rhodium Complexes
Major: Biochemistry
Project Advisor: Dr. Shari Dunham

Katie Mayer

KATIE MAYER ’20

Project Title: Effects of Ocean Acidification on Social Hierarchies of Juvenile Lobsters
Major: Environmental Science
Project Advisor: Dr. Josh Lord

Kaitlyn Nemes

KAITLYN NEMES ’20

Project Title: Will an Antioxidant Decrease Bacterial Burden in an Infection Model?
Major: Biology / Pre-Medical
Project Advisor: Dr. Kara Mosovsky

Will Pelletiers

WILL PELLETIERS ’19

Project Title: Sustainability and Social Return on Investment of Medical Legal Partnerships
Major: Public Health
Project Advisor: Dr. James Teufel

Mary Sampson

MARY SAMPSON ’20

Project Title: Sexual Orientation and Change Blindness
Major: Psychology
Project Advisor: Dr. Johnson

Christopher Shosted

CHRISTOPHER SHOSTED ’20

Project Title: The Rhetorics of Healthcare on Reddit: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Online Right-Wing Communities
Major: English
Project Advisor: Dr. Crystal Fodrey

Gabrielle Stanley

GABRIELLE STANLEY ’21

Project Title: Understanding How Students’ Conceptions of Writing Change After the First Year of College
Major: English
Project Advisor: Meg Mikovits

Crystal Yautz

CRYSTAL YAUTZ ’20

Project Title: Sexual Orientation and Change Blindness
Major: Psychology
Project Advisor: Dr. Johnson

Christopher Sorich

CHRISTOPHER SORICH '19

Project Title: Monitoring of Prescribed Burn Areas at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center
Major: Biology
Project Advisor: Dr. Diane Husic

Irene Bonetti

IRENE BONETTI '19

Project Title: Understanding the Role of Phosphorylation in Tumor-Suppressive Function of Gap Junctions
Major/Minor: Biochemistry, pre-medicine
Project Advisor: Dr. Anastasia Thévenin

Michael Gallo

MICHAEL GALLO '19

Project Title: Exploring the Intersection of Justice and Health
Major/Minor: Biochemistry, public health
Project Advisor: Dr. James Teufel

Corinne Philbin

CORINNE PHILBIN '20

Project Title: Flavor of Bethlehem: A Celebration of People and Food
Major/Minor: English, theater
Project Advisor: Christopher Shorr

Austin Grace

AUSTIN GRACE '19

Project Title: A Diversity Assessment of Arachnids at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center
Major/Minor: Environmental science, sociology (law and society track)
Project Advisor: Dr. Daniel Proud

Alayna Koch

ALAYNA KOCH '19

Project Title: Microbiome Analysis of Soil from Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site
Major: Interdepartmental major in biology and management
Project Advisor: Dr. Kara Mosovsky

Katie Boyle

KATIE BOYLE '19

Project Title: Effects of Ocean Acidification on Growth of Callinectus sapidus
Major: Environmental Science
Project Advisor: Dr. Josh Lord

Robert Scheirer

ROBERT SCHEIRER '20

Project Title: Effects of Seizure Susceptibility on a Complex Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Major/Minor: Biochemistry, philosophy
Project Advisor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Adam Campell

TEVO’N CAMPBELL '21 & EMMA ADAM '19

Project Title: Kinematic of Prey Handling in Arboreal Snakes
Major: Undeclared (Campbell); Chemistry, pre-veterinary track (Adam) 
Project Advisor: Dr. Frances Irish

Madison Pursell

MADISON PURSELL '19

Project Title: Drug Analysis of Wastewater Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Major/Minor: Chemistry, biology
Project Advisor: Dr. Alison Holliday

Noah Reiss and Adrianna Mantz

NOAH REISS '20 & ADRIANNA MANTZ '19

Project Title: How Nature Experiences Help Us Thrive
Major/Minor: Psychology (Reiss); Psychology, studio art (Mantz)
Project Advisor: Dr. Dietlinde Heilmayr

Ellyse Nieves

ELLYCE NIEVES '19

Project Title: The Underrepresentation of Teachers of Color: Using Narrative Inquiry to Address the Imagination Gap
Major: English, secondary education certification
Project Advisor: Dr. Tristan Gleason

Erika Salus and Jillian McLuhan

ERIKA SALUS '19 & JILLIAN MULUHAN '20

Project Title: Shadows Searching for Light: The Learning Experience of Being a Studio Assistant for Three Large-Scale Projects
Major/Minor: Studio art, Peace and Justice studies (Salus); Studio art (McLuhan)
Project Advisor: Angela Fraleigh

Adriana Facchiano

ADRIANA FACCHIANO '19

Project Title: The Neuroprotective Effect of Curcumin in the Striatal 6-Hydroxydopamine Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Major: Neuroscience, Cellular Neurobiology track
Project Advisor: Dr. Cecilia Fox

Gabrielle Stanley

GABRIELLE STANLEY '21

Project Title: Toward Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation of the Teaching of Writing in Local High Schools
Major: English
Project Advisor: Dr. Crystal N. Fodrey

Andrew Bainbridge

ANDREW BAINBRIDGE '19

Project Title: Synthesis of an Anti-Tumor Rhodium Compound
Major/Minor: Biochemistry, French
Project Advisor: Dr. Stephen Dunham

Miles Lizak

MILES LIZAK '18

Project Title: DNA Binding Rates and Cytotoxicity of Rhodium Compounds
Major: Biochemistry
Project Advisors: Dr. Shari Dunham and Dr. Anastasia Thévenin

Gabrille Nasta

GABRIELLA NASTA '19

Project Title: Responsive Shared Book Reading and Early Literacy Skills in Four Year Olds: A Summer Reading Experience
Major: Psychology and Early Childhood Education Certification
Project Advisor: Dr. Jean DesJardin

Julia Demarco

JULIA DEMARCO '19

Project Title: Individual and Peer Feedback Systems: Exploring the Effect of Recipient’s Personal Purpose Statements
Major: Health Science
Project Advisor: Dr. Robert Brill

Lauren Steinert

LAUREN STEINERT '20

Project Title: Exploring the Influence of Australian Politics, Environment, and History on Aboriginal Music and Storytelling
Major: Vocal Performance
Project Advisors: Dr. Hilde Binford and Ms. Suzanne Kompass

Kylie Chichura

KYLIE CHICHURA '19

Project Title: The Effects of Multiple Amino Acid Mutations of a Key Quorum Sensing Peptide, CSP-1
Major/Minor: Chemistry, math
Project Advisor: Dr. Michael Bertucci

Nathaniel Rhoads

NATHANIEL RHOADS '19

Project Title: Socio-Economic Analysis of Satellite Observations to Predict Cholera
Major/Minor: Economics, Theory and Policy track; minor in mathematics
Project Advisor: Dr. Sonia Aziz

Kyle holding a bug in a jar

KYLE FROEHLICH ‘19 AND DANIEL GERRITY '19

Project Title: Using Stable Isotope Analysis to Study the Exchange of Nutrients between Myrmecophytes and their Mutualistic Ants in an Amazon Rain Forest
Major/Minor: Environmental Science
Project Mentor: Dr. John Bevington 

Molly and Erika stand in front of a whiteboard

MOLLY LOKITIS '18 AND ERIKA SALUS '18

Project Title: Moravian University presents: Exploring Peace
Major/Minor: Political Science, Sociology Law and Society  
Project Mentor: Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug 

Johnathan works in a lab

JONATHAN NADRAWS '17

Project Title: Optimizing cyclization of LamD derivatives in preparation for bioassays of Lactobacillus plant arum
Major/Minor: Chemistry  
Project Mentor: Dr. Michael Bertucci

Michael works on a computer in the library.

MICHAEL BASSIL '19

Project Title: Realism, Anti-Realism, and the Representation Problem
Major/Minor: Biology major, Ethics minor
Project Mentor: Dr. Arash Naraghi

Catalina works with another student to fix a measurement instrument.

CATALINA PEREZ '18

Project Title: The Effects of Dams on River Water Quality
Major/Minor: Biology   
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk

Lauren works at a computer with her faculty mentor.

LAUREN CARONIA ‘20

Project Title: Synthesis, Characterization, and DNA Binding of a Novel Rhodium Complex
Major/Minor: Neuroscience & Graphic Design Majors
Project Mentor: Dr. Stephen Dunham

Maria examines a painted turtle.

MARIA MANZ '18

Project Title: Painted Turtle Inter-pond Movement, and Nest Disturbances
Major/Minor: Environmental Science
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk

Leanna puts liquid in a test tube.

LEANNA MARIE ALTENBURG ‘18

Project Title: Transient DNA Transformation of Drosophila melanogaster Embryos Through Electroporation
Major/Minor: Biochemistry
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Jessica works with two elementary school kids.

JESSICA HERGENROTHER '18

Project Title: Multisensory Phonics Intervention for Students At-Risk for Reading Development
Major/Minor: Sociology with certification in early childhood education (PreK-4th grade)
Project Mentor:  Dr. Jean DesJardin

Betty Jo works with a tourist in Oregon

BETTYJO LABARE ’20

Project Title: Tourism and Poverty: The Effects of Rural Tourism on Homeless and Impoverished Communities on The Oregon Coast
Major/Minor: Major; Sociology, Minor; Mathematics
Project Mentor: Dr. Akbar Keshodkar

Makkah writes on a whiteboard.

MAKKAH DAVIS ‘18

Project Title: Analyzing Partisan Combinatorial Games
Major/Minor: Mathematics and Secondary Education
Project Mentor: Dr. Nate Shank

Joseph Hall

JOSEPH HALL ‘19

Project Title: Choral Village
Major/Minor: Music Education
Project Mentor: Dr. Joy Hirokawa

Brielle Popolla

BRIELLE POPOLLA '19

Project Title: History of the Deputy Center
Major/Minor: History (major) and Museum Studies (minor)
Project Mentor: Dr. Bardsley and Dr. Paxton

Beth Davies and Aaron Hudson

BETH DAVIES AND AARON HUDSON ‘18

Project Title: Assessing and intervening in health-harming legal needs in the Lehigh Valley
Major/Minor: Health Science on the OT track/ Public Health
Project Mentor: Dr. James Teufel 

Richard Buffone and Josh Toth

RICHARD BUFFONE & JOSH TOTH ’18

Project Title: The Delaware River Watershed Initiative: Macroinvertebrate and Fish Community Assessment in the Upper Lehigh River Watershed
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk

Crystal Collins

CRYSTAL COLLINS ‘17

Project Title: Antibiotic Tolerance: Distinguishing between Classical Resistance and Persistence in a Macrophage Infection Model 
Major/Minor: Biology/Chemistry
Project Mentor: Dr. Kara Mosovsky

Brandon Dimick

BRANDON DIMICK ’17

Project Title: The Effects of a Temperature-Sensitive Mutation on Bang-Sensitive Mutants in Drosophila melanogaster
Major/Minor: Biology  
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones  

Shelby Does

SHELBY DOES ’17

Project Title: Turtle Population Dynamics in Three Ponds at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center
Major/Minor: Environmental Science 
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk  

Paige Hart

PAIGE HART ’17  

Project Title: Recapitulating Immuno-Antimicrobial Synergy against Escherichia coli infections
Major/Minor: Biology   
Project Mentor: Dr. Kara Mosovsky

Bryan Harvey

BRYAN HARVEY '19

Project Title: An Algebraic Investigation of Bandaged and Constrained Rubik’s Cubes
Major/Minor: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics 
Project Mentor:  Dr. Kevin Hartshorn  

Chris Hassay

CHRIS HASSAY ’17

Project Title: Laying the Groundwork for a Writing-Enriched Curriculum at Moravian University
Major/Minor: English major with a minor in Business Management
Project Mentor: Dr. Fodrey  

Gautam Kanakmedala

GAUTAM KANAKMEDALA ‘17

Project Title: Intergenic Effects of Bang-sensitive Mutations in Drosophila melanogaster
Major/Minor: Biochemistry
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Loukya Kanakamedala

LOUKYA KANAKAMEDALA ’17

Project Title: The Neuroprotective Effects of Curcumin in the 6-Hydroxydopamine Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Major/Minor: Neuroscience-Cellular   
Project Mentor:  Dr. Cecilia Fox  

Swathi Kanakamedala

SWATHI KANAKAMEDALA '17

Project Title: DNA Cross-linking by Antitumor Active Rhodium Compounds
Major/Minor: Biochemistry/Pre-med
Project Mentor: Dr. Shari Dunham

Josh Levano

JOSH LEVANO ’17

Project Title: 'Extreme Kinesis: A Comparative Study of Prey Handling in Snakes'
Major/Minor: Biology and Management 
Project Mentor:  Dr. Irish  

Jessica Lynch

JESSICA LYNCH ’17

Project Title: Establishing preliminary relationships between peptide structure and quorum sensing activity in Bacillus cereus
Major/Minor: Biochemistry  
Project Mentor: Dr. Bertucci  

Austin Mates

AUSTIN MATES '18

Project Title: Synthesis of Rhodium-DNA Model Complexes
Major/Minor: Biochemistry
Project Mentor: Dr. Stephen Dunham

Amanda Miller

AMANDA MILLER '17

Project Title: Polyproline folding: the effect of chain length and interactions
Major/Minor: Biochemistry and Business Management with a track in Organizational Leadership 
Project Mentor: Dr. Alison Holliday

Emily Miller

EMILY MILLER '17

Project Title: Friendship, Victimization, and Peer Interactions in School-aged Children
Major/Minor: Psychology and Environmental Science
Project Mentor: Dr. Michelle Schmidt

Raymond Morales

RAYMOND MORALES ’17

Project Title: Extreme Kinesis: A Comparative Study of Prey Handling in Snakes
Major/Minor: Biology  
Project Mentor: Dr. Irish  

Nathan Nocchi

NATHAN NOCCHI ’17

Project Title: The Nature of Free Will in Light of Contemporary Neuroscience
Major/Minor: Philosophy and Religion
Project Mentor: Dr. Arash Naraghi  

Matthew Obsazrny

MATTHEW OBSZARNEY '17

Project Title: Moravian Music: Creating Performance Editions of Anthems and Choral Works
Major/Minor: Music Education & Music Performance
Project Mentor(s): Dr. Hilde Binford and Gwyn Michel

Michelle Pompsello

MICHELLE POMPOSELLO '18

Project Title: How Do Sand Boas Capture Prey They Cannot See
Major/Minor: Biology 
Project Mentor: Dr. Irish  

Meeghan Rossi

MEEGHAN ROSSI '17

Project Title: Glycoalkaloids and False Potato Beetle Eggs
Major/Minor: Chemistry/Psychology
Project Mentor: Dr. Alison Holliday

Kayli Silimperi

KAYLI SILIMPERI ’17

Project Title: Effect of Bang-sensitive Mutations on Memory in Drosophila melanogaster
Major/Minor: Biochemistry 
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Vishu Solanki

VISHU SOLANKI '17

Project Title: India’s Black Economy: Origins, Obstacles & Opportunities
Major/Minor: ­Economics(Major), Sociology (Minor)
Project Mentor: Dr. James P. West

Jordan Sweeney

JORDAN SWEENEY '17

Project Title: The Role of Physical Activity in the Overall College Experience: How students and athletic directors perceive the challenges and benefits of staying physically active while in college
Major/Minor: ­Sociology
Project Mentor: Dr. Virginia Adams O’Connell

Erin Tiwold

ERIN TIWOLD ’16

Project Title: Manipulating Signal Hydrophobicity to Alter Quorum Sensing in Streptococcus Pneumoniae
Major/Minor: Biochemistry and Mathematics 
Project Mentor:  Dr. Michael Bertucci    

Devon Vukovich

DEVON VUKOVICH ’17

Project Title: Edge and Vertex Failure Games on Graphs
Major/Minor: Mathematics 
Project Mentor: Dr. Nathan Shank  

Micaela Wilson

MICHAELA WILSON '17

Project Title: Stereotype Analysis of Alternative Medicine Practices
Major/Minor: Psychology
Project Mentor: Dr. Sarah Johnson

Victoria Alupke

VICTORIA ALUPKE '17

Project Title: Teams, Tones, and Tensions
Project Mentor(s): Dr. Debra Wetcher-Hendricks and Dean Christopher Hunt

Shannon Bensetler

SHANNON BENSETLER '15

Project Title: The Impact of Land Preservation on Water Quality in the Lehigh River Watershed
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk

William Christman

WILLIAM CHRISTMAN '16

Project Title: Honor and Masculinity: The Experiences of German Soldiers during the First World War and the Emergence of Right-Wing Radicalism, 1914-1923
Project Mentor: Dr. Heikki Lempa

David Gaspar

DAVID GASPER '16

Project Title: The American Civil War and the Lehigh Valley: A study and analysis of Primary Sources
Project Mentor: Dr. James Paxton

Adam Ghoweri

ADAM GHOWERI '15

Project Title: Intranasal Administration of DNSP-11 in a Chronic 6-
Project Mentor: Dr. Cecilia M. Fox

Dylan Grub

DYLAN GRUBB '16

Project Title: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Bethlehem Pennsylvania
Project Mentor(s): Dr. Daniel Jasper and Dr. Kelly Denton Borhaug

Colleen Hait

COLLEEN HAIT '15

Project Title: Sculpting in Our Community: Working Three-Dimensionally with Elementary School Children
Project Mentor: Dr. Kristin Baxter

Huy Quoc Huynh

HUY QUOC HUYNH '15

Project Title: The Economic Development of Vietnam from International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Perspective.
Project Mentor: Dr. James P. West

Caitlin Hayland

CAITLIN HYLAND '15

Project Title: Creating a Model for the Neurological Disease PCCA 2, in Drosophila melanogaster
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Abby Jeffries

ABBY JEFFRIES '17

Project Title: Sculpting Peace in Our Community: Working Three-Dimensionally with Elementary School Children Through a Summer Art Camp Curriculum
Project Mentor: Dr. Kristin Baxter

Alejandra Kaplan

ALEJANDRA KAPLAN '16

Project Title: The Impact of Land Preservation on Water Quality in the Lehigh River Watershed
Project Mentor: Dr. Frank Kuserk

Colton Krial

COLTON KRIAL '15

Project Title: The Politics of Place and the Freeing of Political Discussion: The Scarcity of Public Space and the Searching for Political Discourse in Bethlehem, PA
Project Mentor: Dr. Khristina Haddad

Elizabeth Mack

ELIZABETH MACK '15

Project Title: Kinematics of Prey Capture and Swallowing in Sand Boas: Balancing Conflicting Functional Demands
Project Mentor: Dr. Frances Irish

Michael McAndrew

MICHAEL MUANDREW '14

Project Title: Creating a complete edition of Hasse’s La Spartana Generosa
Project Mentor(s): Dr. Hilde Binford, assisted by Mr. David Boothoyd

Laura McBride

LAURA MUBRIDE '16

Project Title: Creation of an Annotated Bibliography of the Kittatinny Ridge in Pennsylvania as a Tool for Developing Conservation and Research Priorities
Project Mentor: Dr. Diane Husic

Christopher Ossont

CHRISTOPHER OSSONT '15

Project Title: The Role of Action Research in Reclaiming Teachers' Professional Lives in an Era of International Accountability
Project Mentor: Dr. Joe Shosh

Kayla Poole

KAYLA POOLE '14

Project Title: Executive Function in Relation to Reading Outcomes in School Age Students
Project Mentor: Dr. Jean Desjardin

Kerry Reider

KERRY REIDER '16

Project Title: Kittatinny Ridge ecological monitoring project
Project Mentor: Dr. Diane Husic

Brianne Schoolcraft

BRIANNE SCHOOLCRAFT '15

Project Title: The Role of Action Research in Reclaiming Teachers’ Professional Lives in an Era of International Accountability
Project Mentor: Dr. Joe Shosh

Ghazal Stity

GHAZAL STITY '15

Project Title: Characterization of a novel bang-sensitive in Drosophila melanogaster
Project Mentor: Dr. Christopher Jones

Leah Triber

LEAH TRIBER '15

Project Title: The Politics of Place and the Freeing of Political Discussion: The Scarcity of Public Space and the Searching for Political Discourse in Bethlehem, PA
Project Mentor: Dr. Khristina Haddad